


Grimm One

by banjjakbanjjak



Series: Star Wars [1]
Category: Carry On Series - Rainbow Rowell, Simon Snow & Related Fandoms, Star Wars - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - No Powers, Alternate Universe - Science Fiction, Alternate Universe - Star Wars Fusion, Alternate Universe - Star Wars Setting, An ode to the side characters with about five lines in the entire series, As well as someone putting up a transcript of the entire film, Character Death, Falling In Love, Friendship/Love, I tried this...I really did, I'd like to thank the Wikis for keeping me sane, If we realise Dev isn't a Grimm this fic is f u c k e d, Inappropriate Use of the Force, M/M, Rogue One Spoilers, The Force, everyone dies
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-30
Updated: 2020-09-04
Packaged: 2021-03-07 01:27:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 5
Words: 15,620
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26198572
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/banjjakbanjjak/pseuds/banjjakbanjjak
Summary: The Death Star is a weapon that promises the Empire eternal rule over the galaxy.With the freedom and future of the galaxy at stake, a group of unlikely individuals band together and embark on a mission to steal the plans of the Death Star and deliver it to the rebel forces, the Coven.It's dangerous and brash, but rebellions are built on hope.
Relationships: Dev/Niall (Simon Snow), Keris/Trixie (Simon Snow)
Series: Star Wars [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1902577
Comments: 15
Kudos: 7





	1. Scavenging for Survival

[WOBANI]

**DEV**

The day had started out as any other. Dev was transferred to this labour camp on Wobani a week or two ago. It was disgusting, cold and wet here – he much preferred the camp he was at before.

 _At least there was sunlight there. Then again, beggars can’t be choosers_.

He thought he’d be used to it by now, he’s been moved from camp to camp since he was two, since the Empire took his family away. Despite being classed as an “Enemy of the Empire”, the guards at the camps never actually roughed him up too much. Dev suspected the only reason for this was because of his father. Nelson Grimm was taken away to help the Empire with some secret project, and Dev was their leverage.

So that was his life now, working as a salvager for the Empire at one of their many labour camps across the Galaxy. It was monotonous, a waste of what might have been an exciting life had his father been someone else, or if he had the opportunity to escape. When he was younger, he dreamt that his father would come to him, take him from whatever camp he was. They’ll still be under Imperial rule, but at least he was with his family.

As he grew older, he realised that dreaming and hoping got him nowhere. Working and keeping his head down meant three pathetic meals and a decent night’s rest in a bunker somewhere. And since beggars couldn’t be choosers, he accepted it.s

What was breaking up the monotony today was another Imperial inspection. Dev’s heard rumours about the Empire cracking down the Coven rebels and their contacts, so what used to be a routine checks has become more frequent and their attitude getting worse. He glanced over to the other salvagers, quietly hoping that he wasn’t the one with the least salvaged parts.

The Imperial git, some Lieutenant or other, brought with her an entourage of Stormtroopers. They look more like executioners than simple guards. So Dev dipped his head even lower and scrubbed the parts he has found even harder.

Suddenly, an explosion went of, and the ensuing chaos was what Dev would generously describe as pandemonium broke out. The other salvagers all ducked and dove for cover, just as blasters started going off.

 _They sure know how to pick their dates_. _And also…what informant is so important they’d rush Wobani of all places?_

Dev grabbed his duffle of scavenged parts and started running as the gunfire became more intense. He crouched behind one of the sturdier workbenches and took several deep breaths.

_This might be my chance…this…_

His thoughts were interrupted by a scream. He peaked over the top of his workbench and could make out a Stormtrooper backing away at the dead body on the floor. His pristine white helmet had a bloody handprint smeared over it.

 _What are they doing?_

Dev watched as the Stormtrooepr staggered backwards, eventually reaching the workbench next to him, cowering and shaking. He knew a chance like this wasn’t going to come again soon, if ever, and right now there was a shell-shocked Stormtrooper next to him armed with a blaster they weren’t using.

 _Live or die, I’m getting the fuck out of here_.

“Oi, if you’re not using that thing, give it here!” Dev shouted over the gunfire. The Stormtrooper turned to him and Dev gestured at the blaster he’s left on the floor. Without hesitating he threw it over to Dev, and it honestly surprised him, he expected to have to work much harder and much more violently to get it.

He held up the blaster and aimed it into the distance and pulled the trigger. The blowback was virtually non-existent, and compared to the duffle of salvaged parts he carried daily, this blaster was light. Doing a once-over the bench again to check the coast, Dev dashed out, throwing caution to the wind, his hope was to find the Coven Rebels and join them in fighting the Imperial bastards.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the Stormtrooper’s taken off his helmet. Dev was not expecting a fiery head of cropped hair to be under that helmet, or for his breathing to be getting more erratic.

 _If I leave him here, he’s going to get killed_.

He took one more look at the Stormtrooper, and then at his blaster.

 _Oh fuck me_.

Dev doubled back towards the Stormtrooper, skidding onto his knees and looked into the frantic green eyes. “Breath with me,” Dev orders, drawing in deep breaths, exhaling slowly, he needed this guy to be at least functional if he was going out on a limb to save his skin. After a couple of moments, his breathing evened out slightly and Dev concluded that was good enough for now. “Don’t make me regret coming back for you, now move.”

He ran out with the Stormtrooper behind him, shooting wildly, shooting blindly, and actually managing to land a shot on a Stormtrooper who was tailing one of the Coven Rebels. He gave Dev a thumbs up at first, but then immediately raised his blaster, aiming at the Stormtrooper behind him.

“He’s with me,” Dev said, which earned him a questioning look.

“And who’re you supposed to be?”

“Consider me a new recruit. Dev Grimm.”

“Gareth.”Lowering his blaster he extended a hand, “We’re getting you out of here.”

“What?”

Dev was shocked. Somehow, the Coven thought he was worth any trouble at all to send a squad of Rebels to come get him. _Not the dream I had, but I’ll take anything at this point_. “You should’ve lead with that.” Gareth cocked a grin at him and then made off into the fray. Dev turned to the Stormtrooper, giving him a curt nod before running after his newfound friend.

As they shoot their way out, Dev saw the Lieutenant run from hiding place to hiding place and couldn’t help but send a blast over the top her head, knocking off her little boxy cap. He didn’t look back as he legged it out the gates of the camp.

Eventually Gareth lead them to a U-Wing parked outside the camp, before he could get on board Gareth turned around, gesturing at the Stormtrooper who’s been following Dev, “What about him?”

Dev could see he was still in a daze and gave him a little shake, “You staying with them or you leaving with us?” All he gets is a small nod, which was enough for Dev. Gareth just shrugged and lead them on board.

“We’re good to go!” Within moments they were in the air.

* * *

[BRYX SECTOR, WOBANI SYSTEM]

It was immediately clear there were only two people behind his rescue, and apparently only one of them was doing the gunfight. Marvelling at the courage and stupidity, Dev flopped down on an empty seat and the Stormtrooper followed, clutching onto his helmet, the oxidised blood contrasting sharply against the pristine white of the armor. “You kept the thing?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“I don’t know.”

It was like drawing blood from a stone. Granted, Dev knew he was shaken, but they were safe now, or at least he thought they were. There was no one else to talk to whilst Gareth was up front piloting, and Dev was a ball of adrenaline and energy – he needed a distraction.

“So…do you have a name?”

“No,” he mutters, staring down at his helmet, “They just call me this.” And he shows Dev a spot on his neck, a tattoo reading ‘N1-411’.

Dev studies it for a bit, then an idea formed in his mind, “How do you feel about the name Niall?”

“Better than anything else they’ve ever called me.”

“I’m Dev,” he held out a hand.

“I’m…Niall,” he took Dev’s hand, the smallest smile on his face.

* * *

It wasn’t long before Gareth made his way back to them, asking them to follow him to the cockpit, where another pilot sat, talking into a receiver.

“Yes we have him General. No he doesn’t know yet.” _Know what? That you’re a bunch of rebels?_

“This is Rhys,” he gestured to the other man in the cockpit as he climbed into the other seat. Rhys swivelled around and nearly choked on his spit when he sees Niall

“You brought back a bloody Stormtrooper?” he shouted, immediately biting on his lip and wincing at the very loud voice on the other end. “I’m sure he has a good explanation…Yes General Bunce…Understood.” With that he rips off his headset and just glares at Gareth.

“He said he was with him…and we needed him so…mate it’s not my fault Grimms make bad decisions,” Gareth said defensively.

“Look, he’s with me and that’s that,” Dev said, “Now…not that I’m not grateful for the rescue, but something tells me this isn’t some act of charity.”

“You’re right, it’s not,” Rhys huffed, “We’ve received intel that a defector from the Empire is currently trapped on Jedha, the Pilgrim Moon.”

“And what does that have to do with me?” Dev asks.

“If you would let me finish,” Rhys looked like he was going to pop a vein, “The information is about what the Empire is working on.”

 _Oh._ “Is this about their building project?” That’s what they were salvaging for, some great big machine to turn the tide of the Civil War.

“Yes. Specifically, the one your father is helping to build,” Rhys said. Dev was quietly hoping it wouldn’t come up, to expect him to do anything about it…well honestly he’s not sure what he _could_ do about it.

“You’re not expecting me to talk him out of it right? He’s been doing it for two decades.”

“Look, we came to get you because the informant told us that without you, her intel would be useless, and we needed to find you fast,” Gareth says.

“I don’t even know _what_ he’s building!”

“They call it the Death Star,” Niall suddenly piped up, and the three of them turn to look at him, “It’s all anyone talks about back at base.”

“That doesn’t sound good,” Dev mumbles.

“Precisely, and it looks like your cousin is going to help us learn more about it,” Rhys says. Dev’s eyes go wide, refusing to even entertain the thought.

 _It wouldn’t be him…it can’t be him_. “Which one?”

“Mordelia Grimm.”

_I guess she’s all grown up now, huh._

* * *

Gareth and Rhys explained the plan to them, they were to head for Jedha right away, extract Mordelia and then return to the Coven on their secret base. Dev tried to find out more about the Coven, but with Niall in his uniform, it seemed that they had their reservations about him.

With introductions out of the way, Dev found himself sitting with Niall in silence once again. His nerves have somewhat calmed down, but he was still fidgety, and without anyone to talk to, he chewed on the pendant his father gave him on his birthday years ago.

“What is that?” Niall suddenly said, and Dev dropped the pendant out his mouth.

“This…is a kyber crystal,” he dangles it in front of Niall, “My father gave it to me. Supposedly, it powers the lightsabers.”

Niall studied it more closely after Dev’s explanation, and the curiosity was eating away at him. It seemed like a good as time as any to ask.

“What was that…back there?” he asks softly, tentatively.

“That was my first kill. He wasn’t even coming for me, he was just running away. I panicked and now he’s gone,” he leaned forward, staring at the floor, “I don’t know what came over me. Someone must’ve cared about him, right? And then I started thinking what would happen if I was gunned down there. Would anyone even notice I’m gone?”

“Wow.”

“Sorry.”

“Oh don’t be. I just – it’s just under those helmets, you all look…evil. You all look the same. I guess it was easy to think there’s no one under the mask,” Dev paused, trying to think of the best way to say the next part, “It made it easier to hate you all as a collective, rather than as individual people.”

“What about you? Why’d you come back? You could’ve ran off with my blaster.”

“Because you weren’t just a Stormtrooper anymore,” Dev picked up the helmet, most of the blood had been rubbed off now, the smear was but a faint mark now. Hoping to bring some levity to the situation, he put on the helmet and one thing became immediately apparent, “Shit, how do you guys see out these things, let alone aim?”

“Half the time we just shoot and hope we get lucky, that’s what I did. I guess wasn’t very lucky, until today,” Niall chuckled emptily, and for someone that was so glum, Dev was glad to have made him smile for the first time since they left Wobani. Niall helped him out the helmet and was still smiling, and Dev honestly couldn’t remember the last time someone smiled at him.

Gareth called out to them from the cockpit, “You two, General Bunce wants a word – the hologram is set up.”

They made their way to the front of the ship, crowding around a rudimentary and small projector, “Can she see us as well?”

“Well the tech is there, whether it works…guess we’ll find out!”

“ _Gentlemen_ ,” a woman’s voice crackled over the speakers and a fuzzy hologram appeared in front of them, “ _I won’t take long, as I understand it, communications in Hyperspace could be finicky_.”

“General Bunce was it?” Dev asks, ignoring the instinct to chew on his nails.

“ _Devlin Grimm_ ,” she smiles at him, “ _I’m happy to see you are safe. My boys didn’t disappoint_.”

“You wanted something?”

“ _Indeed. Your cousin is currently stranded on Jedha. She fled the Imperial controlled planet of Hampshiri and was going to be extracted_.”

“Still waiting for the part that you need _me_ for,” Dev interrupts and Rhys clears his throat.

“ _Mordelia insisted that we find you. A request she passed on from your father_ ,” General Bunce said, “ _The Grimms were being rounded up to apply pressure on Nelson Grimm…_ ”

“Are they…?” Dev couldn’t even finis the sentence. He may not have seen them in twenty years but they were family.

“ _Last we heard from Mordelia they were fine, but that’s why Nelson and Malcolm Grimm sent her to us. She said that Nelson had told her you were key to the intel, and to find you_.”

He didn’t know what to say, he had dreamt of freedom, of quashing the Empire for so long, but now that the opportunity presented itself and _he_ of all people had a crucial role to play in it, he was unsure. He didn’t have the slightest clue as to how _he_ could be key to any of his father’s plans.

A hand finds its way onto his shoulder, Dev looks over and Niall was giving him a look of encouragement. Encouraging him to do what, he’s not sure, but it did feel nice to be supported.

“So what’s the plan?” he asks.

“Travel to Jedha, get her out, bring the intel and we will take it from there,” Rhys said.

“ _Good luck gentlemen_.”

And with that General Bunce ended the call. Gareth and Rhys jumped into action, flipping switches and strapping themselves in.

“You might want to hold on to something,” Rhys says before pushing a lever.

Dev grabbed onto Niall who’s managed to find a handrail and watched as the stars stretched out in front of them before melting away into a mesmerising tunnel of blue light.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did I go ahead and write a fic using all the side characters? Yes.
> 
> Is this setting up for the main cast with the main story? Also yes.
> 
> Thanks so much for reading and I hope you enjoyed it :)
> 
> Find me on Tumblr: https://banjjakbanjjak.tumblr.com


	2. Escape from Jedha

[JEDHA SYSTEM - TERRABLE SECTOR]

**NIALL**

As they come out of Hyperspace, Dev let go of him once he got his balance back and moved on to discussing the finer details of their rescue effort with Gareth and Rhys. It went over his head mostly, mainly because he wasn’t listening. It all felt a bit surreal, turning back on the Empire and the only thing he’s ever known. When he woke up this morning, the last place he imagined being was helping the Coven actively undermine the Empire. Yet here he was, and it was exciting – even he could recognise that.

“Why is she stuck on Jedha anyway? Couldn’t you guys just go in and pick her up?” Dev asked.

“The plan, originally, we’d come for you, and second convoy to collect her, then everyone meet back at base,” Rhys explained, “But those Imperial knobs messed up or something, but they turned around and are back on Jedha.”

“Why would they be on Jedha anyway, I didn’t think the Empire liked the Jedi and their temples very much.”

“The kyber crystals…right?” Niall said, and the three of them turn around and stare at him.

 _These guys know I can talk right? They don’t need to do this every bloody time_.

“Yes. It’s the kyber crystals,” Rhys elaborated after seeing that Dev was still confused, “They’re mining for them on Jedha, actually pretty much across the galaxy. We think it has something to do with that…Death Star, was it?”

Niall nodded at Rhys’s explanation. He’s never actually seen the Death Star, but from what he heard about it, it was supposed to be some space station about the size of a modest moon. Truth be told, he didn’t understand the fuss over it, the Star Destroyers were perfect symbols of the Empire’s might already, and it’s not like the Coven could come anywhere close to their military prowess or firing power.

 _Maybe I should’ve stuck on the side with bigger guns. Too late now_.

“How do you plan on actually getting her out?” Niall asked, “The place won’t be guarded per se, but it’ll be crawling with my…with Stormtroopers.”

“Rinse and repeat.” Gareth said with a smile.

“You’re going to descend into Jedha, open fire and hope for the best?” Niall wasn’t sure if Gareth was joking, but he really hoped he was.

“We don’t really have another option do we? We don’t exactly blend in,” Rhys comments, steering their U-Wing through Jedha’s atmosphere.

“Well, he does,” Dev gestured at Niall. That’s when an idea came to him. If he was going to be a free man, he was going to earn his keep – he’s also slowly adjusting to the idea that he had a vested interest in staying alive. He also hoped this would stop them staring at him every time he opened his mouth.

“It’s just a search and rescue right?” Niall tried to stop the quiver in his voice and actually sound confident in his idea, the small nod from the three of them gave him some confidence, “We don’t need to go in guns blazing, in fact, that may result in losing the target. We could try sneaking around?”

“How?”

“With the helmet on, they won’t know if I’m actually with them,” Niall looeds to Dev, who was leaning back, smiling at him, happy for him to take the reins, “I’ll _apprehend_ a few of you, march you around and hopefully that buys you enough free time to get to Mordelia.”

He looked around the cockpit, waiting for any response, any feedback from them. He could feel the blood rush to his cheeks and was beginning to feel incredibly stupid for trying to suggest anything.

“Aren’t you bloody glad I brought a Stormtrooper back with us?” Gareth chuckled, giving Rhys a hard slap on the back. Rhys mumbled something and pushed his hair out of his face to focus on piloting. Niall could feel himself smiling, proud of the fact that he’s done something for the group.

“So you going to cuff me?” Dev said, Niall could almost hear the cheek behind it.

“If I had any, I would.”

They look on as the imposing cliff faces come into view, toppled statues bearing the faces of Jedis passed, impressive columns that made up the former site of pilgrimage, foreboding carvings all shrouded in an air of abandonment. It was hard to believe that a place of such reverence was left to rot.

* * *

[JEDHA]

After letting Rhys fiddle with his helmet for a bit, he was now connected to the ship’s communication system. Niall had expected Rhys to come along with Gareth and Dev, but he just pointed at his legs, and the folded up wheelchair next to him.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t know.”

“Just keep us posted – especially if you need a quick escape. Gareth’s also linked up, but he tends to yap. You don’t seem though.”

Niall put his helmet back on, and Dev handed him back his blaster.

“What are you going to use then?”

“I’ll improvise. You, could use a clean though,” and with that he takes one hand, holding Niall’s head in place, and with the gloved hand he gave the front of his helmet a quick rub. “There, you might stand a chance of hitting something later.”

“Ready?” Gareth shouted.

“Ready.” They both said and with that Gareth opened the doors of the U-Wing and they step foot on Jedha.

* * *

The moon was crawling with Stormtroopers, mostly cargo convoys, the occasional thug amongst the Stormtroopers menacing the small groups of people that still lived here. Niall stood behind Gareth and Dev, letting them lead the way, pushing them with his blaster every once in a while for good measure.

“That should be the last box. Finally. Let’s hope they’ve mined all of it now. This place is fucking depressing,” a passing Stormtrooper whined to another.

“What requires this much kyber crystal – it only takes one to power a lightsaber,” Gareth whispered.

“Keep quiet and keep moving,” Niall barked. Dev turned around to him with a raised eyebrow and bit back a smile, Niall on the other hand was free to grin under his helmet.

_Could he at least pretend I’m being a convincing prison escort?_

Apparently he was because none of the other Stormtroopers stopped him as they marched through the streets, eventually arriving at a small village square of sorts. There were more transporters and wagons here, all loaded with boxes of kyber crystals, and somewhere along the side of the square there were a bunch of locals, watching idly by as the Empire stripped their home of all its worth.

“If our information is correct, she should be hiding somewhere in the old temple,” Rhys said over their comms, all it took was for Niall to look up and there it was, right in front of them. While the building certainly looked old, it resembled a half forgotten dream of what a temple _should_ look like.

“You there!” a voice said behind him. Niall defaults into what’s been drilled into him and turned around, back straight and head held high. He had to keep his voice firm, and he needed to think quickly to blag their way out of the situation.

“Yes, sir.”

“Who are you?”

“N1-411, sir.”

“And they are?”

“I caught them…trying … to … steal the shipment, sir.”

“Oh really?” the Stormtrooper was walking closer, and the others were closing in on them, “Say, which convoy did you come on?” Niall could feel his hands shaking, and he was very aware of the fact that they were all armed, whereas only he and Gareth had a blaster.

“Let them pass in peace,” a woman’s voice said from the side, “Let them pass in peace.”

“And who the fuck are you meant to be.”

“I am with the Force. And the Force is with me,” the woman said. Niall used the distraction to start backing away with the other two, slowly inching their way toward the temple.

“Don’t bother with her, she’s just a loon from the temple,” another Stormtrooper said, “Troublemakers.” They were readying their blasters and Niall had been in enough of these things to know when a fight was about to break out.

Just as the first blast was fired, Niall pushed Gareth and Dev behind cover. They take a moment before all looking over, expecting to see a corpse and the Stroomtroopers looking for them. Instead, the saw the woman take on all the Stormtroopers in the square and doing a damn fine job of doing so. Everyone knows to not bring a knife to a gunfight, yet there she was with a bloody cane, taking out the Stormtroopers and dodging their shots as if she could see out the back of her head.

One Stormtrooper gets kicked so hard they land next to the three of them. Dev takes no time to finish the job and knock him out, taking his blaster in the process. “I said I’d improvise!”

Before they knew it, all of the Stormtroopers were lying in heaps on the floor, either groaning in pain or passed out cold. The three of them slowly emerged from their cover when a second group of Stormtroopers rushed into the square. The woman may have had the element of surprise over the last group, but this new group was ready to shoot and they were standing in line – even Niall wouldn’t miss the shot.

“I have a bad – ” Gareth’s words were interrupted by a rapid fire coming from behind them, mowing down all of the Stormtroopers. To say they were shocked by the barrage of gunfire was an understatement.

“You could’ve shot me Keris,” the woman said as she walked towards them, or rather, toward Keris. The guns she had on her all looked familiar but had other parts attached to it, unorthodox additions and modifications. Whatever she did to them, they fired harder and very faster.

“You’re welcome,” she brushed back a couple of braids out of her face and turned to the three of them, “Are you looking for the girl?”

“Perhaps,” Gareth answered – he had every right to be suspicious, these two women weren’t ordinary folk. Judging by their dress and what the Stormtroopers were saying, at least one of them had something to do with the Jedi Temple, if not the fallen Jedi Order itself.

“Well if you are, she’s in there if you want to follow. If not you can stay put,” Keris then turned and made her way back inside.

“Sorry about her, we don’t usually get visitors,” the woman says, “And when we do…well, you can see how they’re like.”

“Right,” Niall managed to say, “Also, thank you, for earlier.”

“The Force sees all, I was merely doing my bit,” she said with a smile, “Now come on, I believe we have the one you need, now that you have the one she needs.”

“Who are you anyway, the way you took them down…are you a – ” Gareth said.

“I’m just Trixie. Nothing more, nothing less.”

They followed her into the temple – what’s left of it anyway. Years of neglect have meant the once formidable lustre of the temple has waned, much like the Jedi Order it once served. Right at the entryway, Trixie turned to Niall and gently tapped her head with her staff.

 _Oh_.

Quickly realising what she meant, he removed his helmet, his hair was stuck to his forehead but he welcomed the breeze and fresh air of Jedha.

“Shall we?”

* * *

**DEV**

It took a moment for his eyes to adjust as the climbed up the stairs, not that there was much to see on their way up. When they reached the top, there was little beyond a haphazard attempt of a living space and even more rubble. He was anxious to find Mordelia, what information she had, and what his father said to her. In the past, whenever he heard about his father, it was always in connection with his work, and even though he was only a child, he knew his father was scared of what he started.

Once they entered into the temple proper, they saw Keris with an arm around someone. Dev knew she was Mordelia instantly. The same dark black hair, widow’s peak and angles, but unlike her brother, she lacked the intense stare of the Pitches. Her eyes were like his, softer and more open, like all the other Grimms.

“You’ve grown...up,” he said.

“You’re still taller,” Mordelia said.

“How did you…what happened?”

“They started rounding us up. Magus thought your father was delaying work on the Death Star, and since you weren’t around, he needed to find new ways of applying pressure,” she says, “Uncle Nelson gave the recording to us, and I was sent to give it to the Coven.”

“They let you go?” Gareth asked.

“My brother was the one to round us up,” Mordelia looked at Dev, her gaze fixed, “I guess he didn’t mind if his sister was missing.”

_He did it. He actually fucking joined them._

“What does the recording say?”

Mordelia took out a data card, and turned to Keris, who stepped aside to reveal a small hologram reader. “Your father made us promise to find you. He said you were the key to all this.”

Gareth took out his earpiece and held it out, “For Rhys.”

Dev swallowed heavily, his heart was racing – he was about to see his father for the first time in twenty years. Mordelia placed the data card on the reader, and soon, a fuzzy figure was standing before them.

“ _My friends, if you’re watching this, then perhaps there is a chance to save the Coven and the galaxy_ ,” he looked tired, aged and he’s greying far too early. “ _If this somehow reaches anyone. Please find my son. I need him to know his father hasn’t forsaken his humanity._ ”

He felt a hand around his, he didn't have to turn around to know it was Niall.

“ _Devlin, I can’t imagine what you think of me. I didn’t want to do it, but I guess it’s too late for regrets. We call it the Death Star, and there’s no better name for it. It drains the life force of planets, stars and moons_.”

“A weapon to destroy planets?” Rhys’s voice coming through softly through their comms, but no one really noticed. They were just as shocked as he was.

“No wonder they emptied Jedah of its Kyber crystals,” Keris said.

“ _But I had to continue, They can’t know that they can finish it without me. So I kept working on it, to stay in control. If you are listening, there is hope. I’ve placed a trap_.”

Everyone lent forward at that, his father looked like he was about to burst.

“ _My Stardust. The reactor module, that’s the key. That’s the place I’ve laid my trap. It’s well hidden and unstable, one blast to any part of it will destroy the entire station_. _The schematics of the Death Star are stored in the on Scarif_ ” The hologram fore, and Mordelia lept forward to try and get it to continue.

Dev now understood why his father resisted as much as he did.

_What did you do Father._

The hologram continues again “ _Dev. My Stardust_ ,” Dev looked back up to see his father crying, “ _So much of my life has been wasted. I try to think of you only in the moments when I’m strong, because the pain of not having you and your mother with me...it gets too much. To whoever is listening,_ _please find my son._ ”

He didn’t know he was crying until he felt the tears down his face, “Mordelia where is he right now?”

“If I’m not wrong, he should be at the research base on Urdu, I think the base is called Astrum Stella.”

“We have to go get him,” Dev said.

“What?” Gareth and Niall say at the same time.

“Who better to tell us about the Death Star than the man who built it, right?” Dev was trying to rationalise his desperate desire to go rescue his father.

Before anyone got rebut him, there was a loud boom and the temple shook underneath them. They look to Keris who’s concerned mirrored theirs.

“Jedha’s…screaming,” Trixie said, clutching an amulet around her neck, “Something’s ripping her apart from within. Draining its power.”

“You guys may want to take a look outside. Sit tight, I’m coming!” Rhys barked through Gareth’s ear piece. They all ran to the arched windows of the temple to look out at Jedha. The ground was rippling, and from afar, it looked like a sandstorm was forming. But as it got closer, Dev could make out that it wasn’t just sand, it was the ground itself. Jedha was exploding from within. The tremors were becoming more violent, and the already precarious temple ruins were the least ideal place they could be right now.

_What is going on?_

“The recording!” Gareth shouted as he ran back in with Mordelia, only to have the ceiling come in on the space, flattening the recording, and the hologram reader.

Moments later their U-Wing showed up and Niall climbed on, helping Dev get Mordelia on. Gareth leapt in after, quickly turning around to pull Dev up. He looked back at Trixie and Keris and extended an arm, “Come on!” Trixie reacheed out tentatively only to have Keris haul her onto the U-Wing and jump on after.

Despite being in the air, the U-Wing was shaking violently, the wall of…Jedha was gaining on them and the flying debris made it difficult to steer straight. Gareth had run ahead to help Rhys pilot their way out of this freak storm. Trixie was muttering some prayer to herself, and Keris was just rubbing circles into her back. Mordelia had curled in on Niall, trembling and her eyes shut.

Dev stumbled to the cockpit, watching their starship barely make it out into the stratosphere and out of Jedha. Rhys slammed on the brakes and was panting hard, the jerk almost sent Dev flying, but he’d learnt his lesson from earlier – gripping tightly on the handrail.

“What _was_ that?” Rhys exclaims.

“What is _that_?” Keris said from the back, pointing out the window. They all turn to look out her side of the ship, and in the distance they see a giant ball, unlike any starship or starfighter known to them. It had a dip on its northern hemisphere, and it was pointed at Jedha.

“Is that…?” Rhys stutters, struggling to find the words.

“Yes, that’s the Death Star,” Mordelia says.

 _I have a bad feeling about this_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We have the whole gang now!
> 
> Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter :)
> 
> Comments and kudos are appreciated x
> 
> Find me on Tumblr: https://banjjakbanjjak.tumblr.com


	3. Astrum Stella

[JEDHA SYSTEM, TERRABLE SECTOR]

**GARETH**

Once everyone got their shit together, Dev demanded they contact the Coven, but Rhys refused. “Why won’t you send the message to the Coven?” Gareth asks after Dev storms off.

“Without the actual recording, we have nothing in our hand to actually convince the Coven to authorise a full blown siege to Scarif,” Rhys explained.

“Won’t our word be enough?”

“These are people’s lives we are asking them to risk, we can’t just send them out on a half-remembered message!” Rhys reasoned. That was the difference between them, and why General Bunce teamed them up. Rhys was risk-adverse whereas Gareth was not, but he also didn’t spend too much time in his head which Rhys did to a fault.

“Then we go get him,” Dev said from the passenger hold, “You want proof, then we bring back the man himself.” Rhys looked about ready to deck the guy but Gareth shakes his head.

_He has a point_.

“If anything goes wrong it’s on your head,” Rhys huffed, “ _both_ of your heads.” He pointed a finger at Dev and then at Gareth and began charging the drivers to jump to Hyperspace.

Dev seemed ready to strong-arm his father’s rescue. Gareth got it, he really did. Here was a chance for him to see his father again, and they had the perfect reason to actually go out there for him.

“Mordelia, you said he was on Eadu right?” Gareth said as he starts plotting the co-ordinates.

“I think the base is called Astrum Stella, well, that’s what was labelled on the data disk anyway,” Mordelia adds.

“I have a bad feeling about this,” Rhys muttered as the starship did its familiar lurch before jumping to Hyperspace.

“You have bad feelings about everything,” Gareth laughed.

* * *

[EADU]

**RHYS**

For once Rhys had a point, because things were decidedly not great. Gareth had inputted the co-ordinates just off a bit, so when they jump out of Hyperspace, they find themselves quite literally flying into Eadu at full speed. To top things off, it was pouring, night-time and so visibility was very low. Rhys tried to swerve out of the way to avoid a cliff, but their ship still clipped the rock face, taking off a third of their wing.

And did he mention that there was an Imperial Shuttle flying in as well, just a few miles ahead of them? So yes, his bad feelings were definitely valid. Rhys directed their U-Wing for landing, putting their ship a good distance away from the Astrum Stella for good measure.

Dev leapt out as soon as they touched down, and of course Niall followed after mumbling an apology to them. At least he’s taken off the top half of his uniform now, looking less Imperial lackey and more … mismatched, just like them.

“Need a hand?” Gareth asked.

“No, go set up the sniping rifle. They might need cover from a distance,” Rhys couldn’t believe he was actually looking after those two. After unfolding his wheelchair, he shifted himself onto it with practiced ease, wheeling himself down to the passenger hold, to get acquainted with the area, and where perhaps they might find a new starship.

“Where you two going?” Gareth asked Trixie and Keris as they stepped out, walking deeper into the gorge.

“I’m following Dev, his path is clear,” she said cheerily and Rhys looked to Keris.

“The Force will guide her, and therefore she’ll guide me.”

“Right…the _Force_ ,” Rhys whispered under his breath. He saw the firepower Keris was carrying, he had no doubt she could look after the entire group if she had to.

“You better stay here, get some rest,” Gareth said to Mordelia who seemed to be at a lost to be doing nothing.

**DEV**

The rain really wasn’t helping, all he knew for certain was that Astrum Stella was built deep into the cliff face of one of the mountains and there was a ladder that lead to a loading bay. Through his binoculars he could make out a bunch of people gathering on it, like some welcoming committee for the Imperial Shuttle. He couldn’t quite make out who it was they were speaking to, but from their uniform, he suspected it to be a General.

“It’s Possibelf,” Niall suddenly said and Dev’s blood ran cold, before quickly being replaced with unbridled rage. When the Imperial troops stormed into their home, they held him and his mother at gunpoint, _kindly requesting_ his father’s cooperation. When he tried to bargain, they shot his mother and Dev was so scared he’d be next. He wasn’t, but he kicked and screamed as they dragged him out of the house.

_Of course it’s her_.

Checking his blaster was strapped in, he made a run for it down the mountain pass, thinking to climb up the ladder to get onto the loading bay. If he’s lucky, he might just aim for Possibelf’s head and thank her for the two decades of abuse and imprisonment.

**RHYS**

He was about to tell Gareth to keep an eye on the both of them when he the hologram reader whirred to life. He made his way over and was met with General Bunce’s face.

“What are you doing on Eadu?”

_Direct as ever_.

“We are currently attempting a rescue mission,” Rhys said hesitantly, “the target is Nelson Grimm.”

“The Imperial research base?”

“Yes.”

“And Nelson Grimm is there, along with the rest of the engineers for this so-called weapon?”

“It would appear so,” Rhys wasn’t liking where this was going, and they were confirmed when the General ordered an airstrike.

“Recall your group, and wait for further instructions.”

“But General, Dev and – ” and the hologram shut off.

_Shit. Shit. Shit._

“Niall, come in. Niall?”

He had to warn them and get them to come back. He felt his wheels hit something – Niall’s damn helmet was on the floor. He shouted from the open doors, “Everyone, keep your eyes locked on Dev and Niall – the Coven is sending an air raid.”

He rolled back and tried to get in contact with the Coven, he couldn’t let his team get blown up by one their own. And he certainly wasn’t going to bear the cross for the death of Dev’s father.

“General Bunce. requesting a delay on squadron support. Alliance forces on site. Please confirm.” he barked into the transmitter, and when nothing comes through he tries again, and again, until General Bunce’s crackles through.

“ _Get the squadron leader on. Now._ ”

_“They’re already engaged ma’am._ ”

That bad feeling he had about this? Justified.

* * *

**DEV**

His arms were shaking by the time he reached the top of the ladder, but he had no time to waste. He crouches behind some crates and slowly makes his way forward, trying his best to eavesdrop.

“My lovely geniuses,” Possibelf said, neither rain nor the soft hum of the engines of her starship couldn’t drown the mocking sarcasm out, “I have been informed that, unfortunately, one of you has been talking.” There was a murmur amongst his father’s colleagues, the man himself was unreadable and calm. “Of course, you can talk, but the problem _who_ you were talking. So, which one of you spoke to the Rebel scum?”

There were whimpers and denials across the team, which only spurred her Deathtroopers to raise their blasters at them. “I take that this means it was a group effort. Ready. Aim. Fi – ”

“It was me! Not them,” his father stepped forward, “It was me.” And a round of shots ring out, and they all drop dead but his father.

“I knew. I just wanted to feel responsible for yet more lives,” she laughed, “It always going to be you. You’re lucky your nephew is who he is otherwise all the other Grimms would be dead. Unfortunately, your son doesn’t have the same protection.”

“You’ll never win you monster.”

“Oh, where have I heard that before?” she sneered, “I’m not the one that helped realise the Empire’s greatest weapon. It is truly magnificent – Jedha’s nothing more than a memory now.”

“And the more you use petty schemes and one-upmanship, the faster your precious Darth Magus is going to cast you to the wind.”

Alarms sounded throughout the base and Dev could see in the sky a squadron of X-Wings descending upon the loading bay, firing without discretion. The fires resulting from the missiles were burning brightly despite the heavy rain.

“Get to your stations and fight back. Get our fighters in the air now!” Possibelf barked out.

Dev jumped out from his cover, and screamed as loud as he could, “Father!”

“Devlin?”

Dev’s smile fell from his face once he saw that Possibelf’s attention was also on him. He readied his blaster but before he could fire, one of the X-Wings landed a direct hit onto the loading bay, sending everyone flying back.

**TRIXIE**

The bowblaster always felt foreign in her hand, most weapons did. However she had a job to do, and her staff wasn’t going to be appropriate on this occasion. She was confused as to why the Coven would send an air raid knowing they were here for what seemed to be a covert operation, however her priority now was to keep Dev and Niall alive.

“This is furthest we’ve ever been from home Trixie,” Keris said scanning the horizon.

“Anywhere could be home,” she replied, “So long as we are together.”

Trixie could see that the TIE Fighters stationed on the base have taken to the skies to fend off the Coven Rebels. She warmed her hands and takes aim at one of the TIE Fighters and fired, sending it careening toward the control tower above the docking bay. And she fired another, and another, each blast taking down another TIE Fighter.

It was not the time for Dev to die.

_Not yet_.

**DEV**

_If I don’t move maybe the pain will go away._

Dev slowly opened his eyes, just in time to catch Possibelf boarding her ship to leave, the loading bay in flames and everyone laying on the floor dead, or waiting for death to come over them.

_Father_.

He pushed through the ache coursing through his body and made out his father lying on the floor amongst the other bodies and debris. He rushed across the burning platform. Careful to not disturb him too much, Dev gently got down next to him and lifted his head onto his thigh, trying to shield him from the rain as much as he could.

“Father…Pa, oh come on old man, wake up,” he plead.

“Dev…my Stardust,” his father smiled, but he was breathing hard, and the rain made it impossible for Dev to check for injuries.

“Pa, I’ve seen your message. The hologram, I heard it.”

“It must be destroyed…Scarif…”

“I know Pa. We will. I will,”

“Dev. Look at you,” he raised a shaky arm and Dev takes it in his, “You’ve grown so much. I have so much to tell you.”

Dev felt his father’s hand go limp and his eyes glazed over. “Pa?” Dev’s tightened the grip on his father’s hand, trying to shake him awake. _I only just found you again_. _You can’t leave me behind._

Just then the doors to the facility open and a group of Stormtroopers emerge. He didn’t realise he was sobbing and incoherently begging him to come back until someone tried to pull him to his feet.

“Dev, come on, this place is going to blow,” Niall said whilst firing blindly at the incoming Stormtroopers.

“I can’t leave him here,” Dev was denial, but he couldn’t just leave his father here.

Niall knelt down by him, grabbing his hand, “Dev. He’s gone. And there’s only one thing we can do for him now.”

Dev knew Niall was right, so he reluctantly let go and allowed Niall to drag him toward one of the docked Imperial cargo ships. It didn’t take long for Dev to come to his senses and start firing back and helping Niall with their escape. Suddenly a spray of lasers come from the distance, a distinct pink glow to the beams. At least someone out there cared about the two of them on this burning platform.

They ran on board the cargo ship and Niall immediately jumped into the pilot’s seat to get them in the air whilst Dev took down the Stormtroopers that Keris missed, which fortunately weren’t that many. Niall didn’t even warn him when he the cargo ship took off, sending him tumbling backward into the ship.

* * *

**NIALL**

With the exception of some basic training they did, Niall was not a particularly skilled pilot. Dev was fuming, kicking at the walls of the ship Nonetheless, they needed a new ship and he seized the opportunity. It didn’t take long for him to spot the others. They found Trixie and Keris first, and soon after, they find Gareth carrying Rhys on his bag and Mordelia holding his chair and some cargo.

Niall stepped out the pilot seat to give back control over to Gareth and Rhys as soon as they were on board, neither of them looked at Dev when they climbed in. Niall knew exactly why and he wanted to smooth things over – he just didn’t know how. All he knew was that no matter what, Nelson Grimm sacrificed his life to deliver something to them, and now there was a task for them to do. The last thing he wanted was for that sacrifice to be in vain – for Dev’s sake.

“You ordered a fucking airstrike on my father?” Dev shouted, and from the looks on Trixie and Keris’s face, they were equally shocked.

“I didn’t. We didn’t,” Rhys tries to explain, gesturing at himself and Gareth, “The General found out where we were and who was here.”

“You might as well have then, those were Coven bombs that killed him.”

“He did try to stop them Dev, he called to stop the air raid” Mordelia said quietly. Niall didn’t know if she was helping, but if it was true, then Dev needed to hear it. That none of them wanted his father dead.

“I appreciate that you’re in shock right now, and you’re looking for someone to blame,” Rhys said as he hauled himself onto the pilot’s seat, “I did what I could and I’m sorry that he’s gone. This is what happens during a rebellion.”

“He was living proof, and your rebellion killed him!”

Rhys snaps around, “You’ve been with us for how long?” he ignored Gareth’s tugging on his arm, “Some of us have fought our entire lives for this rebellion. You’re not the only one who’s lost everything to the Empire.”

“You can’t talk your way out of this.”

“Rhys…” Gareth starts only for Rhys to slam on the controls.

“If there is nothing else from you then WAT-4, Gareth. And tell them we’re coming in an Imperial ship.”

He readied the coordinates without further question, and they leave the exploding Astrum Stella base.

* * *

[HYPERSPACE]

The tension lingered, and Dev’s moved to the back of the ship, standing as far away from Rhys and Gareth as possible. Niall looked up at Trixie and Keris who have not said a word about the situation. He knew they were spiritual and Jedis or whatever, but even _they_ must’ve had an opinion.

“Go to him,” Keris said, “He needs a friend right now. Not to escape into his head.”

“And say what, I’m sorry for father is dead, but the way things were going he looked like he was going to die anyway?”

“We all die someday, the only thing we have control over is how, never when,” Trixie said.

“That’s…morbid. And also, aren’t how and when basically the same thing?”

“Nelson Grimm wasn’t a man ready for death, yet when it came for him, he had turned over a crucial piece of information to undermine his life’s work because he wanted to. He got to see his long-lost son,” Trixie says, “He could choose to die with regret, or with hope that his efforts were not in vain, and that his son is safe.”

Trixie was looking at him as if he saw beyond him, and it was unnerving. That said, it hardly seemed appropriate for him, an Imperial to go comfort him, not when his family was here.

“Mordelia?”

“I’ve known him for as long as you have,” she admitted, “I think he’d prefer you speak to him anyway.”

With the encouragement of the three women, Niall slowly made his way toward Dev, as if he were approaching an angry animal that was ready to lash out at anyone. Thankfully, Dev didn’t as he stood next to him, too fixated with his pendant.

Niall had no idea what to say, so he decided to be honest “I don’t know what loss is like. I don’t know that to say.”

“Then don’t.”

“But I want to, say something, let you know I do care. Even if there’s no one else, I care.”

“Why?”

“Because you care. About me.”

“That’s not how it works.”

“I know that. But I still want to.”

“Then…just stay here, with me. For a little while.”

So Niall stayed with him the entire way to WAT-4.

_Two lonely people together doesn’t make for much company after all_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! 
> 
> Comments and kudos are appreciated :)
> 
> Find me on Tumblr: https://banjjakbanjjak.tumblr.com


	4. This Is A Rebellion, Isn't It?

[COVEN BASE, WAT-4]

**DEV**

It made sense that the Empire never found the Coven’s secret base, not when the thorn in their backside was tucked away on a moon in the arse end of no where. When they landed, General Bunce was there to meet them, and it took every fibre in Dev’s being to not run up and deck her. But Niall was right, his father gave him a job to do, his only and final request of him, he needed to see this through.

They’ve all gathered around a large round table in the command centre, Coven generals and Senators (or former Senators at this rate, given the Empire’s iron grip over the galaxy) were shouting over each other. Dev relayed as much information as he could, about the Death Star, the weak point, the location of the schematics, and his father’s sacrifice. He didn’t mention _how_ his father died because…they really didn’t have time for that.

“We must scatter the fleet, there’s no chance we can take on the Empire if what he says is true.”

“You cannot be suggesting we disband something we’ve worked so hard to build?” General Bunce asked.

“Agreed. We can’t just give in, not now,” Senator Stainton said.

“We joined an Alliance, not a suicide pact!”

“We’ve only just started to gather our forces!”

“Gather our forces? Mitali you’ve already gone and blown up an Imperial base.”

“If it’s war you want, you’ll fight alone.”

They were going in circles, and Dev was getting tired over the senseless debate. To him the decision was obvious. The Empire was now armed with a weapon capable of destroying a planet in one fell swoop and here they were, the single force capable of standing up against them was arguing over whether to should _actually_ stand up against the Empire.

_Maybe that’s why Rhys and Gareth are loitering at the back, this is exhausting_.

“A Death Star? An entire planet? This is ludicrous. How can we know if we can trust him, or his father?”

“What reason do we have to lie?!” Of all the stupid things he’s heard at this meeting, this one truly took the cake. Dev didn’t understand how anyone could doubt his claims when there were more than one witness to it. Two of whom these people knew personally.

“To lure us out of hiding, expose ourselves and destroy us once and for all.” Dev looked over at Gareth and Rhys who look as annoyed as he felt at the accusations. Gareth gave him a look to soldier on, and though he and Rhys weren’t exactly speaking right now, even he was shaking his head.

“Exactly, can we really trust the words of a war criminal and the alleged dying words of an Imperial scientist?”

“Don’t forget he brought back a Stormtrooper as well.”

“Oh for fuck’s sake. My father gave his life so that you…we, have a fighting chance against the Empire,” Dev said angrily. Niall was now trying to make himself small by standing behind Gareth and Rhys. He refused to have Niall reduced back to being just another Stormtrooper, “For the record, it’s Niall. And he’s done just as much to get this information back to you as we all have.” 

“If the Death Star is as powerful as you claim, what chance do we have?”

“What chance…?” Dev was shocked that these so called Rebels were turning away from this opportunity, “It’s not matter of chance. The question is ‘What choice do you have?’ Run? Hide? Scatter your fleet?” he looks to the cluster of Senators who were most critical of him, “You give way to an enemy this evil, you will be condemning the galaxy to an eternity of submission. The time to fight is _now_.”

That got everyone’s attention, they were all staring at him, as if they were only just realising the gravity of the situation and the necessity for retrieving the schematics. They needed every advantage they could get. Dev could see that some of the Senators and Coven higher-ups were finally getting off the fence and taking a stand to fight the Empire.

“Every moment you waste is another step closer to the ashes of Jedha,” Dev said.

“What is he proposing?”

“Just let the man speak,” Rhys shouts from the back, giving a nod to Dev.

“Send your best troops into Scarif. Send the entire fleet if you have to. We need those schematics if there is any hope of destroying it.”

“You’re asking us to invade an Imperial installation on nothing but _hope?_ ”

“Rebellions are _built_ on hope,” Dev implored.

“There is _no_ hope.”

“I say we fight!” an Admiral said, Dev’s pretty sure his name is Premal.

Dev turns to Mitali, begging her to see reason, to trust his conviction, to believe in the future the Coven sought.

Mitali looked conflicted, “I’m sorry Devlin…without a consensus from the council…I’m afraid we can’t pursue the schematics. The odds are too great.”

* * *

Dev was pissed that the Coven would rather turn their backs on the galaxy than seize the opportunity to deliver a crushing blow to the Empire. He stormed out of the meeting and just marched on toward the main hangar despite Niall trying to catch up with him.

“You don’t look happy,” Keris said.

“They’d rather surrender,” Dev said looking down at his boots.

“And you?” Keris asked.

“He wants to fight,” Trixie said.

“I do too. We all do!” Niall said after catching up with Dev. He was touched by his friend’s commitment, really, but any fire he had died with the Coven.

“I appreciate it Niall, but I don’t think the four of us could do much.”

Keris looks at him then a smile spreads on her face, “How many were you thinking?”

“What?” Dev turned around, confused and Gareth and Rhys were there along with several other Rebels. Following closely behind them was Mitali and Admiral Premal, and another man (they could pass for a family).

“They were never going to believe you,” Rhys said.

“Thanks for that.”

“But I do, we do,” he continued, “We’ve sacrificed so much for the Coven already. We did it because we believe in the cause we’re fighting for. We do it because we dare to hope. If we lost it now…we wouldn’t know what to do with ourselves.”

“We’re with you Dev – we won’t let your father’s work go to waste,” Gareth said. Dev couldn't believe what he was hearing, and he swallows down the overwhelming gratitude he had for his…friends.

“I suppose you’re going to try and talk us out of it?” Dev turns to General Bunce.

“On the contrary, Devlin. War is inevitable, and we’ll need any advantage we can get. I just can’t give you my blessings in an official capacity.”

“We came to warn you that there is planetary deflector shield set up around Scarif with one main entry – nothing goes in, and nothing comes out,” the man said.

“We’ll improvise.”

“Professor Bunce and Admiral Bunce here will be sending a trusted contact to ensure we secure those plans,” Mitali said, “And from there we will contact an old ally to help us quash the Empire and Darth Magus once and for all.”

“You sure you can trust your contact? Your command doesn’t seem all that…commanding,” Niall comments, which earns him an eyeroll from Rhys but a chuckle from the Bunces.

“We’d trust her with our lives,” Premal said.

“Good luck Devlin. And thank you, you and your father have done more for the Coven than we could’ve hoped for.” With that they turn to leave, and Dev thinks he could hear them whispering about a Jedi…but he’ll question that after they get back from Scarif.

“So what’s the plan?” Gareth asked.

Dev scans the hangar and his eyes fell on the Imperial cargo ship they arrived on, and a grin splits across his face. “Everyone grab your things and whatever isn’t nailed down. It’ll be a cramped trip but we’ll need everything.”

They quietly sneak onto the Imperial cargo ship, Gareth and several other Rebels somehow amassing several crates of explosives, blasters, guns and comms pieces. Dev was keeping a look out and saw Mordelia watching them.

“Where do you think you’re off to?”

“Somewhere far far away,” he said, “Mordelia…I need you to stay here.”

“Why? I want to go with you.”

“I don’t know if we’ll make it back…and with the way things are going, you might be the only Grimm left in this galaxy. My family is gone, but yours is still out there. Find them, bring them to safety. It’s what father would’ve wanted.”

“Don’t talk like you’re about to go die,” she said, even though they both knew that would be the very likely outcome of this mission, “May the Force be with you.”

Dev gives her a hug and runs back onto the Imperial cargo ship.

* * *

They were all strapping into their seats, arming themselves. Keris grabs the heaviest guns available and Niall swaps out his Imperial blaster for some cobbled together contraption that the Coven has made.

Trixie looks at him and smiles, “I’m one with the Force, and the Force is with me. And you Dev.”

“Thanks Trixie,” he returns the smile and heads up to the cockpit as Gareth punches in the coordinates for Scarif and Rhys readies the ship for take off making its way out onto the runway.

“ _Cargo ship, read back. That ship is off limits, what’s going on out there? No one is supposed to board that until further instructions,_ ” the flight controller’s voice crackles through the ship.

“Yes affirmative. We are indeed on board the ship,” Rhys said calmly flicking the last of the buttons.

“ _That is an impounded Imperial cargo ship. What’s your call sign, pilot?_ ”

Rhys looked up at Dev and chuckles to himself before answering, “Grimm One”.

“ _There’s no Grimm One. Pilot what are you doing?_ ”

“Well there is now,” Gareth laughs and gives Rhys a nod, and signals for Dev to hold onto something.

“Apologies flight control but we have to go,” and the ship darts forward and takes to the air.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! 
> 
> Grand finale tomorrow and then...just what are the Coven going to do with the Death Star Plans?
> 
> Comments and kudos are appreciated x
> 
> Find me on tumblr: Find me on Tumblr: https://banjjakbanjjak.tumblr.com


	5. Written In Stardust

[SCARIF SYSTEM, ABRION SYSTEM]

**NIALL**

Niall joined Dev in the cockpit, holding his hand trying to keep him calm, but from how clammy his hands were, he wasn’t sure if it was actually for his own benefit. The rest of their team were jittery with nerves as well, knowing how much was riding on their success, he didn’t blame them for being antsy.

When their ship comes out of Hyperspace, they saw exactly what Professor Bunce meant by a planetary deflector shield. Scarif was surrounded by a pale blue shell, held together by the Shield Gate on the northern hemisphere of the planet.

 _Nothing goes in, nothing comes out_.

“We’re going to need get through that gate without getting blown up,” Gareth said.

“I have an idea, Rhys, give me the headset,” Niall said, squeezing himself between the two pilots seats. He clears his throat and motions for everyone to stay quiet before turning on the comms, “This is RR-1015 requesting a landing pad.”

“ _Cargo shuttle RR-1015, you are not listed on the arrival schedule_.”

He was prepared for this and ignores the panicked stares from everyone else and proceeds as calmly as possible.

“Acknowledged, Gate Control. We were rerouted from Astrum Stella, the Eadu Flight Station,” he turns to Rhys and starts pointing at the buttons, “Transmitting clearance code now.”

“Transmitting,” Rhys mouths.

The silence stretches out and they were all on the edge of their seats, Niall had the headset muted just in case there was any outburst from their team. He could see Dev was chewing on his pendant again, praying that their luck hasn't run out yet.

“ _Cargo shuttle RR-1015? You are cleared for landing_.”

A chorus of cheers breaks out and Niall exhaled deeply, “ _Please proceed to landing pad nine_.”

“Acknowledged. Proceeding to landing pad nine as instructed,” he responds before pulling off the headset and disconnecting them from Gate Control.

Dev drapes an arm over Niall’s shoulder and gives him a squeeze, “I’ll go tell the others. Well done you.”

“Aren’t you glad he brought back a Stormtrooper?” Niall asked looking at Gareth who grins back at him.

“I am,” Rhys chimes in as the descend through the Shield Gate and Niall directs them landing pad nine.

* * *

[SCARIF]

They had just finished handing out comms pieces to everyone when a voice booms over the receiver, “ _RR-1015, please prepare for inspection_.” Dev and Niall take a quick peek outside and saw two officers and two Stormtroopers making their way toward them.

* * *

“Leave it to us,” Trixie said, urging them all to hide.

The rest of the crew make themselves scarce and on Dev’s signal, Rhys opens the cargo door, letting the small group onto their ship, before immediately closing it again.

“What is th – ” Keris and Trixie make quick work of the four Imperials and Gareth runs out of his hiding spot, taking with him most of the Rebels as well as the two of them. The plan was for them to create a distraction and create an opening for Dev and Niall to get to the Data Room and retrieve the plans.

“If the shoe fits,” Dev said, stripping the Imperial officer’s uniform and getting into disguise, “Which one you thinking? For old time’s sake?” he jokes giving the Stormtroopers a little tap with this foot.

“This is my only chance for a promotion to a higher rank, fuck if I’m going back to being a Stormtrooper,” Niall chuckles before changing out of his own clothes and throwing on the other Imperial officer uniform. He finishes getting dressed after Dev, but couldn’t help but straighten his hat – no officer would be seen with one piece of their uniform out of place.

He looks into Dev’s eyes and just like that first day they met, the fire was there. Years of loneliness, aggression and determination held inside them.

“You with me?” Dev asked.

“All the way.”

* * *

**GARETH**

He lead the group to another landing bay, the goal was to draw attention away from landing pad nine. Rhys was left there alone, maintaining their comms and hopefully their getaway vehicle. That landing pad had to be left alone.

Gareth has never been afraid when going on missions, if he could die for a cause, freedom of the galaxy seemed like a pretty good one. But never has he been on a mission that had so much riding on it. Once their presence is known, there would be no turning back – for them or for the Rebellion. They had to succeed. Thank goodness he wasn’t one to overthink…too much.

Given that this wasn’t their first mission, the team works well together, all knowing discretion was the greater part of valour. They slowly make their way through the shrubbery and find landing pad five, Gareth gave his signal and the rebels scatter, placing explosives around the landing pad. And soon they go off, and everyone braces themselves for the incoming battle.

* * *

**DEV**

Dev pulled on his hat to obscure most of his face as they entered into the base. The plan was simple, it all boiled down to getting the schematics and getting them off world – whether or not they followed those plans off Scarif was a different story. He followed Niall’s lead, dipping his head at passer-bys that Niall did, ignoring those that bowed to them that Niall didn’t engage with.

“Do you actually know where you’re going?” he whispers.

“Not a clue, I’ve never been on this base,” Niall confesses, “But nothing asking like asking a droid right?” Given how out of his element he was, Dev just nodded as Niall continue to stride through the base, confident as ever. It seemed that the scared and overwhelmed Stormtrooper before was gone, and underneath that white helmet was a confident man, full of brilliant ideas and a quick mind.

True to his word, all Niall had to do was ask a passing cleaning droid “Where is the schematics bank?” and it answers in a variety of bleeps and bloops and Niall disables it after finishing. Dev looked at him expectedly.

“It’s up two floors, first door to the left.”

They pick up their pace and soon found themselves inside the schematics bank. It was a small room, made up of one console, and a glass window. Beyond that there was tall shaft making up the vault of the archive, housing individual data drives, when Dev walks over to the window, he couldn’t quite make out the top and he definitely couldn’t see the bottom. Then an alarm sounds off throughout the base, and Dev knew the battle has begun. Niall slammed on the controls and locks themselves in the data bank.

“Let’s get hunting, I don’t know how long it’ll take before they come to check on this place.”

“Rhys, we’re in the data bank, and I think things are heating up now.”

* * *

**RHYS**

This was the part of missions he hated the most, sitting around and waiting for news. At least Dev and Niall were in the schematic bank now, it was only a matter of time before they find the schematics and they could get out of here.

“Gareth, progress update?” Rhys asked.

“ _Y’know the drill, shoot some Imperials, five more spring up_ ,” he didn’t know how Gareth could sound so nonchalant despite being rained on by gunfire.

He was about to answer with a quip when suddenly something comes from above, blowing up some of the parked starships in loading bay nine. Rhys was overjoyed when he sees the familiar outline of the X-Wings flying in, that part of him that dared to hope they might succeed increases tenfold in him. Then a thought occurs to him, and only one man could pull it off at this rate.

“Gareth, I need you to take an Imperial ship and get off Scarif now.”

“ _What, why?_ ”

“I need eyes in the air, I need to be able to contact someone up there, just in case.”

Rhys drummed his fingers on the console waiting for Gareth to come through again. “ _Leave it to me._ ”

* * *

**DEV**

_DRAINAGE. No. NAVIGATION SYSTEM_. _No. HYPERSPACE TRACKING. No. STRUCTURAL ENGINEERING. N –Yes!_

“Niall I’ve found it!” Dev exclaims and he opens the folder on the console, only to see a thousand or so more folders in it. They start scanning the project code names.

“ _You found it?_ ”

“Almost…”

“ _Good because they’ve started fighting, and we have reinforcements from the Coven off world right now._ ”

Dev smiled at the news and hurries to read through the projects.

 _SPECULO, SC-ONE, HUMDRUM_.

“Whoever organised these files made an absolute mess of it,” Dev comments as he continues scanning next to Niall. He was about to punch the console when he saw the name.

“What is it?” Niall asked, his eyes darting to and from the console to the vault doors.

“Project Stardust. That’s it.” Dev said, “I’m the key.” They select the folder and the see a set of mechanical arms spin out in front of them before climbing up the length of the shaft to the data drive, before pulling out a data drive.

The building suddenly shook violently and the data drive was dislodged from the mechanical arms, Dev watched in horror as the data drive fell, eventually bouncing on the lower part of the mechanical arms and being lodged in between the shaft and the arm.

“Shit. Shit.”

Then a voice comes through the PA system, “ _Alert. Alert. Hostiles on base. Commencing lockdown._ ”

Dev turned to Niall, his eyes widening and brows furrowed together, “What the fuck does that mean?”

“ _Guys, they’re locking down the planet. How are you getting on with the schematics?_ ” Rhys frantically shouts through their comms.

“Still working on it.”

“ _Fuck. Hurry it up, we won’t be able to get it out even if you have it_.”

“We could try transmitting the schematic through the satellite on top, but…”

“But what Niall?”

“The Shield would still need to come down regardless, based on the size of that file, and there’d be no point if no one knows to receive the transmission.”

Dev’s eyes go back to the data drive balanced precariously between the arm and the shaft over the abyss.

“Rhys did you hear what Niall said?”

“ _I did._ ”

“Get working on it then,” he grunts before stepping back from the console and peppering the glass window with blaster shots until it shatters. He took off the stiff officer jacket and started climbing through the window, determined to get that data drive off world.

* * *

**KERIS**

She pelts the Stormtroopers with blaster shots, covering for Gareth as he made a run for single starship left on loading bay five – a CR90 Corvette. While technically ramming ship rather than one fitted for dog fighting, they had little choice.

With the ship now in the air and Gareth jetting off Scarif, Keris returned her focus to the battle or more accurately, returned her focus to protecting Trixie. As skilled as she was, Trixie relied too much on luck and the Force to see her through situations. Though, Trixie often said she didn’t need luck because she had Keris to look out for her.

In all honesty, had Trixie not jumped onto this adventure so readily, Keris wouldn’t have even thought about joining the Coven. The days of the Jedi Order are long gone, all she wanted was to return with Trixie to a peaceful place having seen enough chaos and war to last a lifetime. Yet Trixie rebuked her suggestion time and time again, telling her that was not the will of The Force.

“ _Guys, they’re locking down the planet. How are you getting on with the schematics,_ ” Rhys frantically shouts through their comms.

“If you’re worried about your friend, he’s left – if I’m not wrong he should have made it through the Shield Gate.”

Whatever Niall was saying on the other end went over head because out from the shrubbery, several AT-ACT emerged, towering over them, its long metal legs making the ground shake beneath them with each step it took. Keris was never one to back down from a fight, but that was because more often that not, she brought the biggest gun to the fight. Taking on an Imperial mech capable of crushing them without firing a single shot were not odds she would entertain.

“Fall back!” she screams, leading the rest of their squadron out of landing bay five, through the shrubbery and emerging on the beach. With no cover left, she moved in closer to Trixie and starts firing at the AT-ACT, whilst Trixie dealt with the Stormtroopers and Deathtroopers. She manages to land one more shot before having to pull Trixie out of the way. These things hit hard and were sturdy, but they were heavy and slow.

Suddenly something shot at one the AT-ACT and it started to fall, blowing up before it made impact with the ground. Keris looked up at the sky and saw that despite the Shield Gate closing, several of the Coven’s X-Wings made it down onto Scarif.

“ _Keris, Trixie, come in damn it!_ ”

“Rhys. Yes. Keris here.”

“ _We need to patch a line so that communications could be established from us to the Rebel fleet up there._ ”

“Understood. But how. Please advise.”

Rhys drops out from their comms link for a short moment before coming back online, “ _The X-Wings that just came down, by the beach. They said the saw what may be the master switch at the base of the comms tower_.”

Keris looked up and saw what she assumed was the Tower – sitting atop of it was a giant satellite dish. If the X-Wings could help them clear a path, they may be able to make it there in a relatively short time.

“Rhys, tell the Coven to spare some pilots to clear a path for us, we should be able to get to it from the beach.”

“ _Affirmative. Will relay. Please proceed._ ”

“Trixie, change of plans!” she says as she aimed her rocket at the other AT-ACT, hitting it squarely in the driver cabin. She knew she was only here for Trixie, but if this was what the Force intended for her, then Keris was going to everything in her power to stop it from manifesting.

* * *

**NIALL**

This was insanity, but then again, everything leading up to this point had been insane anyway. He watched Dev leap from the window and grip onto the gaps housing the various data drives along the shaft. Niall was about to follow suit when Rhys comes through again on the comms.

“ _Keris and Trixie are going to turn the Master Switch to enable comms again._ ”

“Good. Can you get contact with any of the Rebel ships?”

“ _Gareth is up there right now, but he’s on an Imperial ship_.”

“You’re going to need to manually patch yourself in.”

Rhys didn’t respond and Niall checks on Dev, he catches him snapping the data drive to his belt. When Rhys doesn’t come through with an update, Niall jumps after Dev and starts scaling the shaft as well, quickly catching up to him as they make their up to the top of the tower.

* * *

**DEV**

They were close to the top, he could make out what looked like a hatch that probably lead straight to the roof of the tower. At least he hoped it did. He could see Niall just below him, looking a bit better than he was given the climb.

Suddenly, one of the emergency doors just above them open up, exposing the archive and them to the person on the other side – Possibelf. Her eyes circle the archive and they fall on Dev as he desperately moved to get out of the line of fire.

“Dev, move!” Niall shouted from below him, and he hears blasters go off. If he didn’t have the data drive in the way, he’d be able to reach his blaster and help Niall. “Keep moving Dev! just keep going!” He follows without question, doing his best to ignore the sparks from the blasters as they make contact with the shaft and the surrounding wall.

He continues upwards until one particular shot was followed by a grunt and the noise of something hitting the supporting beams. Dev looked down slowly to see Niall lying unnaturally still, body slumped over a beam.

“Niall!” he shouts, but nothing came back, the only movement from him was the draft flowing through his hair. He swallows his tears, and grits his teeth and continues upwards.

_You fuckers aren’t going to win. Not even if it kills me._

* * *

**TRIXIE**

It was carnage on the beach, the AT-ACTs and TIE fighters and bombers were relentless in their assault. The few X-Wings that made it onto Scarif before the closed the Shield Gate were becoming fewer and fewer. Their numbers were also growing fewer and fewer as well, but their mission wasn’t complete. So she disengages from any Stormtroopers that comes near her and makes a run for cover by the doors of the communication tower. Keris joined her shortly after and a few of the Rebels that came with them.

From their cover she could see the panel with the Master Switch, it was the largest one there with an equally obnoxiously sized lever, practically inviting someone to pull it.

“I’m going for it!” one the rebels shout as he ducks out from their hiding spot and makes a run for it, only to be gunned down, just out of reach from the panel. She looked over at Keris and she made a decision.

She closed her eyes and walked out of cover, “I’m one with the Force, and the Force is with me.” And she repeats it, over and over. Praying to the Old Gods to guide her, to let her play her part in restoring balance to the Force.

“Trixie!” she heard Keris shout, “Trixie, come back here.”

_I’m sorry my love._

Trixie opened her eyes and there was the Master Switch, and she plays her part and pulls it, re-opening communications from Scarif to the galaxy.

“I’m one with the Force and the Force is with me.”

And then everything goes black as a TIE bomber takes a pass over the beach.

* * *

**KERIS**

_No no no no._

Keris darts out from cover, shooting down any and all of the Stormtroopers that even thought about coming near her or Trixie. She was crying by the time she got to Trixie, she drops her blasters and kneels beside her, resting her head on her lap.

“C’mon Trixie…come back, don’t go. Don’t go,” she was rambling, begging and Trixie just caresses her face.

“It’s okay love,” she got out with a struggle, Keris swallows hard and presses Trixie’s hand onto her face, giving her an anchor to hold on to, “Look for the Force…”

“Trixie don’t leave me.”

“…and you’ll always find me. I’m one with the Force…”

“…And the Force is with me.”

“And I’m one with you.” Keris sobs as she leans over to kiss Trixie’s forehead. She wasn’t going to leave Trixie, and so she sat there cradling her with one arm, grabbing her blaster with the other and shooting at anyone that came near her.

She could hear a beeping coming from the distance, and she saw a Deathtrooper holding out a grenade. Through her tears she aims and shoots at them, and they go limp immediately. Keris never missed, and she knew when the Deathtrooper fell, the grenade was still going to go off. She didn’t mind, she’ll just join the Force along with Trixie.

 _We promised each other to be together in this life, and the next until the stars burn out_.

And the beeping stops and the flames consume them.

* * *

**RHYS**

“ _You’re going to need to manually patch yourself in_.” Nail said.

Rhys didn’t bother to respond, because he had to now figure out how he was going to patch in this Imperial ship to the communications framework. He knew Gareth was up there, but he’s also on an Imperial vessel. The most he could do was to get him to somehow get the Shield Gate to come down. This, he had to do himself.

He carefully wheels himself out of the cargo ship and did a quick scan of the area. Loading bay nine was not as badly hit has the others seemed to be, but the fight was spill out from the initial marked bay of five and beyond. The plan was to leave the bare minimum of rebels here with Rhys, because their fight was concentrated else where. With the arrival of the Coven, it seemed all hell broke loose, but it did buy them time, taking out the AT-ACTs that were pursuing Keris and Trixie.

He could vaguely make out the console port on the other end of the loading bay, and if his assumption was correct, he should be able to plug in the cargo ship into the mainframe. So he swerves back in, grabs the connection cable and his own blaster and heads out into the crossfire.

He ducks as low as he could without actually putting his head between his legs, pushing his wheels as hard as he could, so that even if he had to let go to shoot at some Imperial bastard, he wouldn’t lose momentum or speed. His hands were blistered by the time he made it to the hangar console port, but thankfully, the Empire were lazy with their designs for most things, so he finds the multipurpose port with ease.

 _All I have to do is make it back in one piece. Or mostly one piece. No pressure_.

Hooking his arm through the coiled up cable, Rhys ignores the burning from his hands and sped ahead, letting the cable run loose as he made his way back to the cargo ship. He narrowly dodged a shot, but it threw him off balance, sending him flying off his chair. With the chair behind him, and the mouth of the cargo ship closer, Rhys began to crawl, using the dead bodies of his fallen comrades as shields and cover before finally making it back into the ship.

The cable slots in and he could see the comms system come to life again.

“Yes!”

 _The two of them really made it to the Master Switch. Damn Jedi powers_.

He inputs the code for a broadcast and starts his comms through the ship, he turns on his personal comm, hoping to reach Gareth, “This is Grimm One calling all Coven ships, can anyone hear me? This is Grimm One calling all Coven ships, can anyone hear me? This is – ”

“I can hear you Rhys.”

_Gareth._

“ _This is Admiral Bunce of the Profundity, we hear you Grimm One._ ”

_Two for one!_

“This is Grimm One. We’ve found the Death Star plans. We need to transmit the plans off-planet from the communications tower. You have to take down the Shield Gate…it’s the only way it’s getting out.”

“ _Copy that Grimm One. Call up a Corvette Hammerhead I have an idea_.”

“A Corvette Hammerhead?”

“ _I’m in a Corvette Rhys! What do they need?_ ”

“I don’t kn – ” Rhys said and he hears something clang against the metal interior of the ship. He looks over and sees a grenade at the mouth of the ship. Three flashing lights, counting down to two,

_Gareth._

And then to one. 

* * *

**GARETH**

“Rhys? Rhys?!” there was a loud boom on the other end and then nothing. He tells himself that the blast must’ve just knocked out their comms line, hence the radio silence. Rhys would be fine and make fun of him for even worrying about it.

He refused to even think that Rhys didn’t make it. He’d stare down Death himself if he put his mind to it. So Gareth had to do his part and make sure he can brag about it to Rhys later.

_You have to be alive._

The last thing he heard was that the Coven needed a Corvette Hammerhead, and he looks out to the battlefield, hunting for any Hammerheads. He almost missed it because of all the X-Wings, A-Wings, TIE Interceptors and Fighters zipping about, but he could see a Hammerhead heading towards the Star Destroyers guarding the entrance of Shield Gate, one looked like it’s been disabled by what he assumed her ion torpedoes.

Gareth sets off towards the Star Destroyer, carefully avoiding the Coven ships and paying little attention to ramming some of the Imperial ones. With the trajectory of the Coven’s Hammerhead, he had a pretty good idea what they were going to do, but evidently, so did the Imperials because moments before it rams into the Destroyer, no less than six TIE Fighters fire at it and taking it out.

 _I guess I have social stealth to thank_.

Without putting too much thought into it, he rams into the disabled Destroyer, jerking from the impact. He then puts the thrusters into full force, forcing the Destroyer into the way of the one below it. And it worked, the Destroyer carves into the control deck of the other, toppling over it in the process.

Both were heading directly into the Shield Gate, which would undoubtedly break it. Feeling chuffed, Gareth moved to turn on the reverse thrusters, but the ship wouldn’t budge, it was buried too deeply into the side of the Destroyer. He looked down the front and the rate at which the Destroyer was falling, he knew he didn’t have the time to dislodge from it, but he wasn’t going to give up.

He puts all the thrusters into the red and tried to mangle the head of the ship out but it was futile. The bridge of his ship splits when the Star Destroyers crash into the Shield Gate and Gareth feels the air leave the control centre and the chill of space embrace him.

* * *

**DEV**

Dev kicked open the hatch and found himself on the roof, he grabs onto the railing because his legs were exhausted but the wind was blowing unforgivingly hard up here. He pushes on, running towards the console under the satellite and antenna.

He unhooks the data drive and slots it into the console, and he pushes the lever to transmit the but an error message.

**RESET ANTENNA ALIGNMENT. RESET ANTENNA ALIGNMENT.**

It even had a helpful diagram as to how the antenna _should_ look.

_Oh for fuck’s sake._

Dev punches the console and admits defeat, turning around and saw the antenna bent out of shape. He wasn’t going to give up now that he was so close. Once the transmission was through, it’d be up to those in the sky to disable the Shield. But he had to make sure there was something for them to receive.

Moving the control stick attached to the antenna, Dev pushes it back to the right position, confirmed with the monitor announcing **ANTENNA ALIGNED**. Hoping to take a breather, he stalls for just a moment and then an X-Wing flies past him, and behind it a TIE-Fighter,

_Can I not have one second of peace?_

Dev ran as fast as he could to avoid the lasers from the TIE-Fighter, and while he did, the bridge he was on wasn’t so lucky. He climbs back up and stars the transmission progress again, and this time the progress bar starts loading.

A blaster clicks behind his head and he rolled his eyes, realising that even if this was the end for him, the plans were being transmitted and he had completed his mission.

“Possibelf.” He said without turning around.

“Who _are_ you?” she gritted out. Evidently, who Dev held responsible for his life being mostly shit didn’t even think of him, let alone remember him. He wondered briefly if he was just one of many children that the Empire decided was more valuable as emotional clutches than actual people.

“Devlin Grimm. Son of Nelson Grimm,” he said, turning around with his hands up, “And you’ve lost.”

She backhands him with the handle of her blaster, “Your father said the same. Look where we are at now?”

“Now? Now we see my father’s revenge play out. He’s placed a fuse in your precious machine. And I’ve just told the entire galaxy how to light it.”

“With the Shield up, nothing will leave this planet until I say so. All I’ve lost is some time. You, will die with the Rebellion, forgotten and unimportant.”

“I won’t be so sure about that,” Dev said with grin, because right behind Possibelf was the faint outline of two Star Destroyers plummeting down onto Scarif, and with it, parts of the Shield Gate Control.

Possibelf aims directly for Dev’s head and he closes his eyes, but when the blast went off, he felt nothing. He opened his eyes and watches as Possibelf stumbles backwards, another blaster hit, and eventually tripping and falling over the railing to the beach below.

 **TRANSMISSION COMPLETE**.

“ _It’s Darth Tyrannus, he’s here!_ ” the voices on the intercom shouted.

“ _Philippa get this to the Princess. Now!_ ”

He whips his head around and read the monitor, the progress bars complete, the contents of the Death Star plans safe elsewhere. And leaning next to the console was a man with fiery hair and a bleeding arm.

“Niall.”

**NIALL**

Dev helps him walk toward the elevator, and they made their way down the tower. From the moment they got out, both of them called on their friends through their comms but nothing came in. It didn’t stop them from trying, even as they got onto the beach. Both of them knew they’d never hear back from their friends, but they had hope, hope that least one of them made it out.

A familiar boom comes from above them, and the see a green beam hit the sea. Following the beam to its end lead them to a sphere with a ring on its Northern Hemisphere. The sea was erupting, a tidal wave coming their way.

Niall’s hand instinctively found its way into Dev’s, the fingers interlocking. The sat there together, waiting for the inevitable.

“Your father would have been proud of you,” Niall said.

“I’m sorry I dragged you into this,” Dev looked at him, “I’m sorry we didn’t have longer.”

“What’s the point of forever if I had to go through it without knowing you?” Niall said with a sad smile.

Dev moved and kissed him firmly, desperately and Niall kisses back before he pulls him into a tight embrace.

“Thank you.”

And then everything goes white.

* * *

[TANTIVE IV, HYPERSPACE]

**THE PRINCESS**

She looked on as the Death Star obliterated Scarif as their ship disengaged from the Profundity and jump to Hyperspace.

“Grimm One, May the Force be with You,” she whispered quietly.

Her parents wouldn’t have sent her and her brother here if it wasn’t important, and her brother wouldn’t have her off on her own from his ship if it wasn’t necessary.

The arrival of the Darth Tyrannus’s Destroyer terrified her, but fear had no place here. She had to make sure the plans made their way to the Jedi on Tatooine, and not even the Empire’s newest lap dog was going to stop her.

“Make sure you secure the airlock. And prepare the escape pods,” Phillipa instructed as she came through to the command centre of their ship.

 _This better be good news_.

“Your Highness. The transmission we received.” She walks over and takes the precious data card, the purple gem on her ring catching the light. “What is it they’ve sent us?” 

“Hope”. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And we are done! I just wanted to write a short (ish) fic utilising some of the side characters, much like the original unsung heroes of Star Wars that got the Death Star plans out to the Rebels. Hope you enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it.
> 
> Stay tuned for Part 2 of the series coming out later this week!
> 
> Comments and kudos are appreciated :)
> 
> Find me on Tumblr: Find me on Tumblr: https://banjjakbanjjak.tumblr.com


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